Leading. Often the first thing we see when looking at Argentine Tango is the Tango Lead. It’s that sharp, clear, clean visual that strikes us almost immediately. We see the the visual of someone leading, and it’s this confusion, appreciation, amusement, bewilderment and just down right awe (in some cases) of a ‘wow’.
As Leads, there are many issues that we need to address and then redress, and then revisit several million times over and the reason is
What is a Lápiz & Enrosque ? A Lápiz is a leg extension (and pointing of the foot/toe) done in circular fashion in response to what the Follower is doing. Usually this is a leg extension out away from the body (Forward to 12 O’Clock), then around to the side (at Nine O’Clock), and then the back (at Six O’Clock), and then back to collection. The Lápiz is usually done to the Follower’s Molinete or Traveling Ocho on their resulting back step.
What is a ‘Super’ Enrosque ? You’re going to ask yourself this question: If an Enrosque is placing one foot behind the other, or in front, both are true where the feet are in a crossed position, AND (the ‘and’ is very important) there is a pivoting bodily rotation that occurs. Then what on earth creates a ‘Super’ Enrosque ? MORE ROTATION! And in specific More Applied Disassociation, as there’s an enormous amount of super rotation that can occur due to the release of all that pent up energy. And that release creates some really interesting options and opportunities. 😉 So without further adieu: The Super Enrosque!
What is a Lead Exercise ? This is a series of linked vocabulary choices that are practiced with some frequency on a weekly basis within the construct of 2 different embrace ideas, as well as with a metronome and NOT a piece of music. The reason ? A piece of music has lots and lots of nuances that can and do throw most people off, it confuses the hell out of them.
What is a LEAD Molinete ? It is exactly as described, a Grapevine Turn that consists of an applied dissociative backstep, a ‘circular’ side step, and a dissociative forward step. That’s it. It doesn’t get any more complex than that. The only difference is that instead of the Follower doing this vocabulary, the Lead does it.
Gancho. The word in Spanish translates to the English word, roughly, as ‘Hook’. From an Argentine Tango perspective it has a very specific meaning. You’ve seen these things hundreds of times, and while the vocabulary itself has a connotation as being somewhat ‘cheesy’, and only done by beginner leads who don’t know any better, the reality is a that it is a venerable piece of Tango vocabulary that do have a valid place off the main trunk of the Tango history tree. The story goes that while the Gancho existed long before Norberto “El Pulpo” Esbrez came along, his contribution to its storied history is where creativity meets innovation, specifically with regards to ‘elasticity’ and the Enganche. He is/was credited with pioneering and exploration the ‘invasion’ of the standing leg, the response of the free leg, as well as the space in between the opening of a step, and quite factually (if not literally), the intersection of these ideas.
For most Lead/ers (and Leads) we lead the Argentine Cross so often that we stop thinking about actually leading it and it just sort of
“Collection”, this is an odd word in the Tango world. It has come to mean that we, as dancers, want to bring our feet ‘together’
For most Followers, that haven’t been properly trained, they are rushed into an Argentine Cross right from the start of their Tango dancing lives. Aside
Why Should You Signup ? The simplest reason is that you won’t find this stuff anywhere else. It’s a different kind of tango education. It will help you to understand what you want, how to do it, and why you want to do things with Intention in mind. It will show you how to listen to the music, and how to create different types of vocabulary, as well as how to engage in the milonga environment. This site is all about showing you a better pathway towards a type of tango that reinforces the ideas of Social Tango thru Intention Based Dancing.
